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Second Chance
Sequel to Far In The Horizon. "Give me a chance!" "Never! You betrayed us!" "When did I ever do that?" "You killed Rainstreak!" Blurb Duskclaw was the leader of the fighters, the one that ordered the death of Rainstreak and Mouseflare. Even though he did what was the right thing then, none of the hunters forgive him. He doesn't understand that, as of they were on the opposite side of the war, and they shouldn't have cared about the fighters that were not loyal. Moonsong can still feel the emptiness in her heart, and she's watching her kits grow up slowly. She knows that they are safe now, but the scars of the war still brings her nothing but sorrow. Can Duskclaw fix that too? Prologue Rainstreak stared into the pool, Blizzardfang sat next to him, fidgeting. "She's kitting, Rainstreak. Oh, Iceshimmer is kitting! What do I do?" He stared helplessly at the pool. The gray tom rolled his eyes. "Blizzardfang, we're in StarClan. Iceshimmer will be fine with Sagefrost watching over her. Plus, Moonsong will help." The white tom sighed. "I feel so helpless up here, knowing that I was killed by Mouseflare. I don't even know what she had against me!" "She wanted to use you to kill off me." Rainstreak mewed, flicking his tail. "I hope she has not succeeded in breaking Moonsong." Blizzardfang shook his head. "Mouseflare will always succed in some kind of way. She was successful when she killed off me. Iceshimmer still feels the pain of it today." "So does Moonsong." ~ Duskclaw stared from inside of his den. The whole new GorseClan had decided that he deserved nothing more than a small, isloated den. None of the hunters cared about him, but only Moonsong brought him extra prey. What did I ever do? They say he killed Rainstreak unfairly, but that was only Moonsong's concern. Or it should have been. Then it hit him. He remembered a few moons ago, when GorseClan had first split, Duskclaw had done something he regretted for the rest of his life. Birdsong was dead. The memory was alive in his head, and he shut his eyes. He couldn't stand to remember that scene. It was his fault, this war. If he had not let anger control him, then Birdsong wouldn't be dead, Blackkit and Snowkit wouldn't hate him, and the whole Clan wouldn't be half dead from the war. Was this what he really wanted? But would preventing the war have stopped Mouseflare? The she-cat had gone too far due to jealousy. She was a beautiful she-cat, but greedy too. Rainstreak had been a handsome tom, and in the end, the war was really revolving around the two of them. The couple. Rainstreak and Moonsong. Was their demise his fault too? He didn't even know anymore. Everything sounded wrong to him, and his whole Clan hated him. Even Moonsong didn't look so enthusiastic about being with him. Surely he could fix this? The leader, Flamestar, was giving him another chance. He said that he didn't care if the whole Clan was against him, but he was determined to give a loyal warrior another chance. "I'm not going to let a good warrior go to waste." That was what he had said to Rainstreak, and now Flamestar told him that. "Duskclaw?" "Yes?" He croaked back, lifting his defeated head. Flamestar was standing outside of his den. "I think it's time you stopped mopping around in your little den and start acting like a fighter. Come on, now." Duskclaw stared at him blankly, then slowly hauled himself up. "Moonsong is injured." Flamestar then said. The "retired" leader of the fighters looked up. "What? When did she get hurt? Wasn't she always in the Nursery?" Flamestar sighed. "It's not a physical injury that Sagefrost can heal. It's a mental one. Rainstreak's death has scarred her, Duskclaw." "I did that to her." "In some ways, yes you did." Flamestar agreed. "I want you to fix that. This is your second chance, don't fail, Duskclaw." Who can give me a second chance when I've already failed? I guess Flamestar can, but who knows how this will go? I've hurt her once, I may end up hurting her again... Oh StarClan, what can I do? ~ "Sagefrost!" Iceshimmer's panicked mew sounded from the Nursery. "Somebody fetch Sagefrost!" Duskclaw, who had been perching outside of his den grooming, heard her cry. He leaped up and raced to the medicine cat's den, his muscles still strong. "Sagefrost," he panted. "Iceshimmer needs you." The medicine cat gave him a look of surprise, as if she questioned why he was here. But she quickly nodded and hurried to fetch borage and thyme before rushing out. Iceshimmer was laying on her side, her chest heaving with the effort. Moonsong peered over the nest. "It's okay, Iceshimmer, it'll be alright." The deputy shuddered and groaned. "You'll be okay." Moonsong muttered. Sagefrost had her eyes concentrated on Iceshimmer. "Is it going alright?" Flamestar called from outside. "Quite fine." Sagefrost called back. Then to herself, she muttered. "Flamestar acts as though she was his mate!" Moonsong waited anxiously as Iceshimmer shrieked in pain. Suddenly the light filtering through the hidden Nursery door disappeared. Sagefrost growled and looked up. Duskclaw stood there, holding a stick in his jaw. "I thought this may help." The gray she-cat stared at the former fighter leader, and just nodded to him and picked up the stick. "Iceshimmer, bite down on this." The white she-cat panted in pain and grasped the stick. Sagefrost ushered Duskclaw out, muttering that he was not need at the doorway. Duskclaw just nodded and backed out and disappeared. Iceshimmer gritted her teeth and let out another yowl of pain. "Just bite on the stick when you need to!" Sagefrost hissed. "It'll make this much easier, I promise!" Iceshimmer let out a gasp of pain as she bit down. "How do you know?" She spat. "You've never had kits before!" Sagefrost stared at her icily, getting her sarcastic stare and her tone from her mentor. "Just relax, Iceshimmer. At least I know what I'm doing!" Moonsong shushed them both. "Just concentrate on the kitting." She sighed. "You're both worse than kits!" The white she-cat panted in effort. "They're coming!" Sagefrost hurriedly helped Iceshimmer through the process, and soon three kits were suckling at her side. "Three, just like you, Moonsong." Iceshimmer sighed in relief. The medicine cat gave a few poppy seeds to Iceshimmer and told her to rest first. "If you're too exhausted, then you'll die before you get to even see your kits properly." Moonsong rolled her eyes and tended to her own kits, who were mewling hungrily. Life was just as it should be in GorseClan once more, with an exception of the prisoner that they had acquired in the war. Can it be any worse? To have this one It's hard to find the right cat To get the things done Chapter One ~ Duskclaw I stared outside my prison door, knowing that Flamestar had already let me out. But it didn't seem right to disturb the peace of GorseClan. I felt as though if I just took one step out like I did the day of Iceshimmer's kitting, I would be pulled back and war would rage on. Maybe I should just stay contained. The ginger tom stood up and addressed the Clan. "Cats of GorseClan, as you know, Duskclaw was contained in a prison den because we believed that he should be punished for his crimes." Roars of approval sounded from the audience. I shrank back, guilt and despair churning in my stomach. They all wished for my death. They believed in it. "But, I have decided to give him a second chance." Flamestar continued when the roaring died down. The audience yowled in protest. "He killed Birdsong!" "He killed Rainstreak!" "He trusted Mouseflare!" All my crimes were piled against me. Was there any hope for me? Maybe I had failed GorseClan past the limits. Perhaps I wasn't worthy of even being here. Would they sentence me to Moon Ukufa or Sun Ukufa, just like I did to Mouseflare and Rainstreak? It would be a deadly death, but perhaps I deserved it. Did I really wish nothing better than the death of the unloyal? "He should be executed!" Another cat shrieked, Wolfheart. I remembered him. He happened to be Iceshimmer's brother, the hunter's leader's brother. Moonsong was the deputy for the hunters, but both of them were caring for kits, so Wolfheart took over for now. And if he hated me, then that meant that I was certainly going to die soon. Flamestar raised his tail for silence. "I will not have him executed. I am giving him a chance to prove himself, and that is that. He will receive certain tasks from me, and everyone will have a turn to keep an eye on him. Am I understood?" "Yes, Flamestar." Came the grunts from the Clan. The fighters, the group that I had come from, was being led by Willowmist, with her deputy Stormwing, looked nervous about having me back. I couldn't blame them. Flamestar surveyed the Clan, his eyes narrowed. "You will come to accept him once more. If I, or the other leaders catch any of you glancing at him with hate, then you will receive a punishment that I deem appropriate." Iceshimmer lifted her head defiantly. "Why should we welcome him back now? After all he's done?" Category:Fanfictions Category:Firey's Fanfics